“You gotta do what you gotta do.”

I had the great good fortune of recently visiting a classroom in which struggling readers are participating in an amazing program that is not only improving their reading skills, but their lives. Clearly.

One of the sixth graders we were speaking with explained to us that although he sometimes finds the class materials boring, he knows his reading isn’t what it should be and it’s going to take work and - as he so eloquently put it - “You gotta do, what you gotta do.”

Sixth grade. What is that - twelve years old? I was just blown away. This same young man used the word “atrocious” to describe “some kids’ reading skills.” He told us the best book he has read so far this year was about a sports figure of some sort (my brain hears gurgling water every time anyone speaks of sports… this is MY point of struggle, on which I need to work), and he liked it because it made him realize he needed to get a scholarship so he could go to college to play football... because, “You know, I’m on the [town] football team, and some day I want to play in the NFL.”

When later I asked a follow up question about whether or not he thought NFL players really needed to have strong reading and writing skills he told me he definitely needed them so he could be a good speaker. I asked if he thought NFL players were good speakers and he responded: “Well. You know, some of them are and some of them aren’t, but when I’m on TV, I’m not going to be talking all that slang.” He then launched into an example to show me he knew the difference.

Yes indeed. You gotta do what you gotta do.